The third-quarter results were mixed for a pair of Arkansas banks that have wrestled with profitability of late.
Little Rock’s Encore Bank posted net income of $2 million, and Bank of England registered a $1.3 million loss for the three months ending Sept. 30.
Since its formation in 2019, Encore has traveled an up-and-down track of performance while building a boutique banking franchise with more than $3.8 billion in assets and a staff of 307.
The bank rebounded from a loss of $1.6 million in the first quarter to tally a $2.2 million profit through the first ninth months of 2024.
Bank of England broke its string of nine successive quarters of losses by registering net income of $538,000 for the three months ending June 30. With the recent quarterly loss, the $403 million-asset lender has lost $2.3 million heading toward year-end.
The bank reported losses of more than $3.8 million during 2022 and $12 million last year.
Since the first quarter of 2022, Bank of England has cut its headcount from 1,254 to 390 spread across 151 locations. That network is dominated by loan production offices for its BOE Mortgage subsidiary in 34 states.
Local Bancorp
During the past couple of years, two top executives at BOE Mortgage began investing in a banking franchise in Alabama, the $62 million-asset Local Bank in Tuscaloosa.
Brad Canada, whose family owns Bank of England, owns a 50.5% stake (a $9.5 million investment) in Local Bank, where he is chairman of its holding company, Local Bancorp Inc.
Michael Cupples, former executive vice president at BOE Mortgage, made a $1 million investment for his nearly 5.5% stake in Local Bancorp.
Other Arkansas faces associated with Local ownership include Little Rock’s Cory & Dinah Davis Joint Revocable Trust and Conway’s Brandon and Bryan Adams. Each holds 5.2%.
Sam Sicard, CEO and president of First National Bank in Fort Smith, has a seat on the Local Bancorp board of directors and holds a 4.7% stake ($900,000). The former Peoples Bank of Red Level relocated its headquarters to Tuscaloosa in February. As of Sept. 30, Local Bank had recorded a $742,000 loss for 2024.
Southeastern Moves
Little Rock’s Bank OZK continues to expand its branch network in the Eastern time zone.
In Georgia, the $37.4 billion-asset lender plans to enter two Atlanta suburbs through a former Bank of America branch at 6304 North Point Parkway in Alpharetta and a future ground-up office at 2151 Jodeco Road in Stockbridge.
Alpharetta’s $7.5 billion-deposit market is home to a competitive field of 21 banks. Nine banks operate offices in Stockbridge’s $1.3 billion-deposit market. Bank OZK will be the first Arkansas lender in both cities.
The big-three banks and their deposit holdings in Alpharetta/Stockton are Bank of America, more than $1.8 billion, 24.56%/$271 million, $20.95%; Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, more than $1.3 billion, 18.16%/$318 million, 24.59%; and Truist Bank of Charlotte, North Carolina, $818 million, 10.80%/$217 million, 16.83%.
More than 400 miles south of Atlanta in Florida, Bank OZK bought a 0.26-acre future branch site at 1231 Kindel Ave. in Winter Park for $3.1 million. The Orlando suburb hosts 26 banks in a $6.3 billion-deposit market.
The big three banks in Winter Park are Bank of America, with deposits of more than $1.1 billion (17.55%); Winter Park National Bank, $673 million (10.54%); and Orlando’s One Florida Bank, $525 million (8.21%).
At last count, Bank OZK operates 67 full-service branches in Georgia and 42 in Florida.
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